Edinburgh: Day 1

One city down, loads more to go. After checking out of our hostel and with a bit of help from Sandy (purchasing train tix) we were on our way to Edinburgh. Upon arriving, we quickly discovered how "heaving" the city really was, thanks to the Fringe Festival--a massive arts festival that brings thousands of people into the center of the city for shows (theatre, music, comedy, plenty of street performers, and much more).

Exploring the city was no small task. We walked the Royal Mile and many of the side streets and closes around the area, walking around and trying to decide how to choose which shows to see. We agreed to check out a small theatre that was putting on The Last Five Years, a show I remembered Rachelle playing music from and having enjoyed. The two actors were British, which was impressive considering the characters in the show are supposed to be living in New York City.

After the show, we went to a raucous comedy show called Late n Live. Most of the comics were actually quite funny (and we Americans could understand their accents and humor), but one guy, Jeff, tanked so badly it hurt to watch. It was like watching an awful version of Russell Brand bomb on stage in front of maybe 300 embittered Scots. The boos and jeers rained down mercilessly, and the dumb bloke continued to dig himself a deeper and deeper hole. Finally, he left the stage and the show concluded with a strong finishing act that was basically a musical comedy duo: one guy played the keyboard and the other was a purple puppet, and the two joined in song in humorous verses. It was enough to satiate the restless crowd, and the host comic tied it all together nicely and sent the audience away grinning again.

Overall, a solid start to our second city, and a nice extra chance to visit with Sandy before leaving Glasgow. The fun and the Fringe continue...